The New York Knicks didn’t need a historic comeback to take Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
Instead, it was a dominant victory in regulation, 109-93, as the Knicks take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series to Cleveland this weekend.
There was no hangover for the Cavaliers to begin the game, as they owned a 27-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the Knicks found their way into the lead by halftime.
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It was the third quarter where New York started to pull away, getting the lead up to 18 points as the Madison Square Garden crowd went ballistic. The Knicks went on an 18-0 run at one point as well, which was reminiscent of Game 1’s fourth-quarter comeback.
However, Cleveland wasn’t letting off the gas despite the deficit. The Cavaliers cut the 18-point lead in half with around 8:30 left in the fourth quarter, as New York struggled to buy a basket.
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But once OG Anunoby knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing, things were back to normal for the Knicks crowd.
Mikal Bridges, who had a stellar night on both ends of the floor, hit a wide-open three with 6:12 remaining in the fourth that got the lead back up to 13 for the Knicks, and they would coast from there.
Jalen Brunson, the team’s All-Star point guard, was phenomenal in the comeback on Tuesday night, dropping 38 points. But Cleveland made their game plan known right away in this matchup, putting pressure on him to the point where he’d be giving up the rock in double-teams.
As a result, the Cavaliers were fine with Josh Hart taking shots instead. While the plan seemed to work in the first half a bit, Hart found his groove in the second and set a new career high with a team-high 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. He also got on the board with seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Brunson tallied 19 points and dished out a playoff career-high 14 assists for New York. And once again, Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, playing efficiently for Mike Brown’s Knicks.
With the lead back up to 18 for the Knicks, all starters were pulled with under two minutes to play, as the crowd gave their squad a standing ovation for a job well done.
The Knicks shot 52% from the field and only saw 14 foul shots all game long, but they held the Cavaliers to just 39% shooting as a team. Cleveland also failed to capitalize on key free throws late in the game, as they were in the bonus with over nine minutes to play. As a team, they shot just 69% (22-of-32) from the charity stripe.
Evan Mobley also had 14 points in the first half, but he curiously didn’t take a single shot in the second half for Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell matched Hart’s 26 points, though he shot 8-of-18. James Harden also went 6-of-15 for 18 points.
With the win, the Knicks have now won nine straight playoff games.
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